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Just passing through, Orange looks like it should have some potential, a number of nice-looking midrises completed recently, some attractive old buildings, factories, and houses, some areas seem to have a real neighborhood feel. Unfortunately, the massive I280 trench really breaks up the town (East Orange too). It would be nice to see a revitalized corridor down Central Avenue leading right into downtown Newark.
The new developments in Newark are encouraging, and will be even more so if a few of the long-heralded projects (NJPAC tower, 4-Corners, Soma) ever get off the ground. However, aside from crime and unemployment, the fact remains the city as a whole has an awful built environment. Outside of downtown it's mostly ugly, subruban-style detached houses, garden apartments, broken street grids, and few mixed-use areas. In that sense, it's not really very urban, and likely won't attract many new residents until these issues are rectified.
All of our decrepit urban landscapes could one day shine. All of these cities could be great. All of their people could be great. The key: Eliminate welfare and other collectivist-altruist programs that keep people locked in poverty. Give everyone the only thing they truly need to make the most of themselves: Freedom. The rest will take care of itself, as it did when our nation was founded. We don't need something new. We don't need a discovery or a gubmint program. We need to roll back all forms of wealth confiscation and let freedom and human nature do what they do best: build excellence.
Just looking at crime and real estate stats. From what I've seen recently Orange has a higher crime rate than East Orange. I think East Orange made good strides in crime stats in 2014, and I'd guess that some of that is just crime that moved West.
Orange has pretty much always had a higher crime rate than East Orange. Most people don't realize that because Orange is really quite small (both in area and population) so it doesn't get much attention. East Orange has made great strides in crime reduction over the last 10 years. The crime rate is nowhere near what it was back in the 90's. The hard part will be getting rid of the reputation of a crime ridden city.
I still think a nice niche community like the Ironbound is with all the restaurants helps Newark. I don't think any of the other towns has anything like it. When you have a core area with 200+ restaurants and bars it helps. Sure generic restaurants are nice but being able to offer a little bit of a European feel helps.
Newark still has: PruCenter, NJ Pac, Newark muesum, a major downtown, the Ironbound, Branch Brook park, major train station, airport and most importantly there are JOBS! We just have to keep the people working those jobs in the city. I really really hope the waterfront gets developed from Raymond Blvd all the way around to the FBI building. Would be nice to have a green waterfront that is walkable from the downtown area to the Ironbound.
Newark's time will come. It would have been further along if the 2006-2008 real estate crash didn't scare everyone away.
Also, you can get on a major highway VERY quickly. I am on 1&9 to 78 in under 2 minutes.
I still think a nice niche community like the Ironbound is with all the restaurants helps Newark. I don't think any of the other towns has anything like it. When you have a core area with 200+ restaurants and bars it helps. Sure generic restaurants are nice but being able to offer a little bit of a European feel helps.
Newark still has: PruCenter, NJ Pac, Newark muesum, a major downtown, the Ironbound, Branch Brook park, major train station, airport and most importantly there are JOBS! We just have to keep the people working those jobs in the city. I really really hope the waterfront gets developed from Raymond Blvd all the way around to the FBI building. Would be nice to have a green waterfront that is walkable from the downtown area to the Ironbound.
Newark's time will come. It would have been further along if the 2006-2008 real estate crash didn't scare everyone away.
Also, you can get on a major highway VERY quickly. I am on 1&9 to 78 in under 2 minutes.
Don't forget the light-rail, a nice amenity for such a small city. Newark would keep more of it's employees in-city were its borders more expansive. The scenic heights in the Oranges and Montclair have siphoned off middle and upper-class households from Newark since the nineteenth century.
Supposedly the FBI is moving out of their building and the area is going to be rezoned as residential, and a development is in the planning stages for the area near the Newark Legal Center. I wish they would create a riverfront promenade lined with mixed-use buildings and lots of retail, sort of like Baltimore's inner-harbor. Make the one-mile strip from Broad Street Station to Penn Station a safe, vibrant core zone instead of a dead space of office towers and parking decks.
The nice thing about gentrification downtown is that there really aren't many residents there now, just empty office buildings, so people won't really be priced out.
The Ironbound is fine, as long as they consistently improve the facades on Ferry Street and stop building Bayonne Boxes (which are essentially banned now).
Don't forget the light-rail, a nice amenity for such a small city. Newark would keep more of it's employees in-city were its borders more expansive. The scenic heights in the Oranges and Montclair have siphoned off middle and upper-class households from Newark since the nineteenth century.
Supposedly the FBI is moving out of their building and the area is going to be rezoned as residential, and a development is in the planning stages for the area near the Newark Legal Center. I wish they would create a riverfront promenade lined with mixed-use buildings and lots of retail, sort of like Baltimore's inner-harbor. Make the one-mile strip from Broad Street Station to Penn Station a safe, vibrant core zone instead of a dead space of office towers and parking decks.
The nice thing about gentrification downtown is that there really aren't many residents there now, just empty office buildings, so people won't really be priced out.
The Ironbound is fine, as long as they consistently improve the facades on Ferry Street and stop building Bayonne Boxes (which are essentially banned now).
What do you propose they build on lots that a mostly 25x100? You are required to have parking unless you are within 1000' (I believe) of Penn Station. No one is going to buy old one-two family houses that are 100 years old to live in them. The Ironbound was a poor neighborhood in the 1920s-1960s and the homes were build cheaper than the homes in Far Hills, Montclair and Nutley areas. It's just not worth saving most of the old houses for the prices that they go for.
The only way to build an urban type of building is large builder coming in and buying an entire block. I'd personally like to see someone build a nice mixed use building with a back entrance parking area in the areas of Prospect Street (using Prospect Row) and Merchant Street (using Merchant Place). Can use those little side streets as the entrances for a parking deck.
I was able to rent three units for $1850-$2000 with no issue in the Ironbound. That is still pretty cheap for a 1600 sq foot apartment. The demand is there we just need new and modern buildings.
Also, you can get on a major highway VERY quickly. I am on 1&9 to 78 in under 2 minutes.
Consider yourself lucky. The traffic flow in downtown Newark is a disaster. A couple weeks ago I went to lunch at Iberia on a Saturday afternoon. Upon leaving the restaurant it took me at least 15 minutes to get from Ferry St. to I-280. All the traffic lights are very poorly timed for the amount of traffic. During rush hour, forget it. One evening I was trying to get to Newark Penn and it took 20 minutes to get from the Route 21 exit off 280 to Penn station. Complete gridlock downtown. I ended up missing my train.
What do you propose they build on lots that a mostly 25x100? You are required to have parking unless you are within 1000' (I believe) of Penn Station. No one is going to buy old one-two family houses that are 100 years old to live in them. The Ironbound was a poor neighborhood in the 1920s-1960s and the homes were build cheaper than the homes in Far Hills, Montclair and Nutley areas. It's just not worth saving most of the old houses for the prices that they go for.
The only way to build an urban type of building is large builder coming in and buying an entire block. I'd personally like to see someone build a nice mixed use building with a back entrance parking area in the areas of Prospect Street (using Prospect Row) and Merchant Street (using Merchant Place). Can use those little side streets as the entrances for a parking deck.
Front-side parking lots don't save you that much since they take away from street parking. Philly, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Hoboken, all survive with old houses without parking. Granted, there's more mass transit in those cities.
I'm not opposed to houses with parking in Newark, but some of those houses have a garage, plus cars in the driveway, plus paved-over front areas converted to parking. Dense urban houses shouldn't need parking for 5 cars!
Parking aside, most houses in Newark are architecturally boring, or downright ugly. Few windows, small windows, boxy shapes, vinyl siding, haphazard setbacks, a mind-boggling mix of styles from block to block. To be fair, even in its heyday the city had lax zoning, little uniformity in style, and mostly wood structures. Thankfully recent zoning updates have curbed the worst of these issues, so maybe the next building boom will bring some better-looking homes.
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